Page 109 - Bonhams Indian and Himalayan Art September 2013

165
A Jain mandala
Gujarat, 16th/17th century
Mineral pigment on cloth; Set within a
lotus and encircling inscription, the jina sits
enthroned in the act of teaching, he is flanked
by two Svetambara monks with hands joined
in veneration, the surrounding field inhabited
by a dancing Bhairava and equestrian figure
in the top corners, and two seated deities in
the lower corners, amongst lay figures, monks
and peacocks.
19 x 18 in. (48.2 x 45.7 cm)
$4,000 - 6,000

166
The chovisi of Rishabhanatha
Gujarat, 16th/17th century
Mineral pigment on cloth; Rishabhanatha seated
at the center within a temple complex filled with
smaller lay celestial figures, he is accompanied
by the twenty-three subsequent jinas.
Folio: 20 1/2 x 20 1/2 in. (52 x 52 cm)
$6,000 - 8,000

Laying out the full array of Jinas in order of 165
succession from the left to right, Sumatinatha
the 5th is red, Vasupujya the 12th is also red,
Mallinatha the 19th is usually rendered in gold
but here in green, Munisuvrata the 20th is blue-
black, Parshavanatha the 23rd has the seven-
headed snake canopy, Neminatha the 22nd is
dark blue, and Mahariva is at the end.

As discussed by van Alphen, the origins of
Jainism reach back into the mythic past:
to Rishbhanatha or Adinath, the very first
Tirthankara. “Rishabha is one of the most
revered Jinas. Both the term rishbha (bull) and
adi (from the beginning) point to an ancient
indigenous origin. Just as the Hindu god
Shiva is also connected with the beginning...
both Shiva and Rishabha have the bull as their
emblem or mount...and loosely flowing locks
in common” (van Alphen, Steps to Liberation,
Antwerp, 2000, p. 44).

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